June 24, 2025

This interview was promoted by the American Club of Lisbon and took place at Grémio Literário on June 24, 2025. It was followed by a lively discussion.
 
The themes under debate were the following:

 
I. Andrew O'Shaughnessy and his enduring affection for Portugal

 

Andrew and visits to Portugal during his childhood.

 

The non-existent discussion in British Schools, as Andrew grew up, of the American Revolution.
 

II. Jefferson's Vision for the University of Virginia

 

How The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind, published in 2021, broke new ground.

 

What personally impressed Andrew about Thomas Jefferson's founding of UVA.

 

Details of Jefferson inviting prospective UVA students to dine with him at Monticello. About Feasts of Reason and Human Happiness.

 

How UVA and the 'Academical Village' anticipated what later became the norm of the American University.

 

Reasons why Jefferson considered the founding of UVA one of his three major accomplishments (together with the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom). 
 
Jefferson's UVA as an essential American institution for democracy.
 
Jefferson, architecture, the Rotunda, and democracy.
 

 

III. The bond between Thomas Jefferson and his friendship with Abbé Correia da Serra
 
The Abbé's recurring visits to Monticello.
 
The Abbé's contribution to advising Jefferson with founding UVA.
 
Richard Beale Davis's book, The Abbé Correia in América, and its Portuguese translation with an introduction by Professor José Luis Cardoso.

 
IV. Jefferson, the Enlightenment, and the Paradox of Slavery.
 
Jefferson as a major exponent of Enlightenment in America. Slavery at Monticello, Sally Hemings, and Jefferson's non-white children.
 
What Jefferson is saying from the grave on the current administration's attack on major universities such as Columbia, my alma mater.
 
Jefferson's current reputation in the USA, and its fluctuation over time.
 
The 'Educated Citizenry,' and Jefferson's democratic ideals.